Thanks to you all,I survived last year and I really hope and believe the next year will be better and happier for all of us- and whatever happens,it's good to know this big family is right here to come home to.Big hugs to and for everyone.

My new years' eve was...interesting.I had ordered a new tv-set as our dinosaur finally bit the dust and had planned to surprise the family with it as an "after-divorce" present for new year.It came just on time,but I still had to fix it in our tv-cupboard,as I didn't want to put it on the wall.(i believe in hiding tv-sets ) Our tv cupboard has a wooden swivelling base for the Set,so I couldn't just put the Set(now a flatscreen) on it,it would tip over when you pulled or swivelled the base.I didn't have much time before the Shops shut,so I dashed to the electronic shop for one of those flatscreen fixing arms.Turns out I would have had to buy an arm that would fix at the back of the cupboard to swivell with the base- for only roughly 150 Euro.As that was nearly half the price of the set,I declined.On my way out I saw an arm that had been fixed to the base of the display table in the shop which would have been ideal.Sadly,the shop guy didn't want to sell THAT one to me...so I dashed to the DIY straight on an got everything I needed but didn't have time to take any measurements on the set (at Home).For a wonder,everything fit perfectly and now i have a made-to-measure base fixture for our new flatscreen that cost a mere 2 3 euro!

Then I brought my eldest (16) to his first ever real completly without grown-ups party and commenced preparing The Dinner.(We had raclette).My Mum was there and we were all enjoying a really nice evening when I started getting some rather wierd sounding texts from my eldest.The party was a huge success,apparantly.But when he somewhat incoherantly informed me rhat he would be sleeping over at a New best friends' he had met at the Party,I called it a night for him and went to pick him up...He was waiting outside when I arrived...looking a bit pale.

He was quite okay for the time it took to get Home,but got increasingly dizzy by the time we finally got him to bed...to cut a long Story short...I spent the last quarter of an hour of the old year clearing up the mess,and he spent the Countdown in Bed-with a bucket in his arms-fast asleep.Well,i should think so,after four Wodka-orange and several Jägermeister...He was fine next morning-well,fine enough to be able to scrub the carpet all on his ownty-downty self-and vows he will never Touch a Wodka-o again.We'll see...But the rest of us enjoyed prosecco,fireworks,'Dinner for one' and a chocolate fountain with baby donuts to dip till about two in the morning,when my Mum declared she'd like to go home.So,all in all,a very successful last Day and a nice evening (for nearly all of us.

Thanks,Dug,although I'm somewhat uncertain what you mean by 'sensible drinker', this statement coming from you,does this mean he will be a responsible,balanced chap who knows when to stop or does this mean he'll be a chap who you can really go out with as a man because he's able to drink a 'sensible' amount before he passes out?

Broccolee wrote:Thanks,Dug,although I'm somewhat uncertain what you mean by 'sensible drinker', this statement coming from you,does this mean he will be a responsible,balanced chap who knows when to stop or does this mean he'll be a chap who you can really go out with as a man because he's able to drink a 'sensible' amount before he passes out?

He will know the consequences of overdoing it and pay the price later on, and will probably moderate this although that does not mean it will not happen again, just not all the time.

He willnae tak' a drink! I think he's deid! , on the other hand though A Midgie in yir hand is worth twa up yir kilt.

Broc, great job fabricating your own tv fixture! Don't think I could have managed that. And don't blame you at all for being displeased with your eldest. Nothing sensible about getting that drunk, although 16 year olds aren't exactly known for being sensible. Glad he had a clean up job in the morning. Hopefully he won't do that again!

“It is the peculiar nature of the world to go on spinning no matter what sort of heartbreak is happening.”― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees: